A Slip of Persona
by Kat3418
Summary: Timetravel.HarryXLuna.Harry has won the war and just about had it; there's nothing to live for and no reason he can see to bother doing much anyway. What's a savior to do? Animagus.Smart.Powerful Harry.Sirius is a father.Harry goes back but isn't himself
1. Chapter 1

AN: Ok so here we go, the beginning, please take the time to review, and if you have anything you'd like me to add or put into the story just say so, and if it works with where I'm headed, I'll probably do it, there's nothing worse than a story you like otherwise be ruined by an ending that you just hate, so I'm really open to suggestions if you have them

It was summer when it happened.

After years of searching for and destroying the horcruxes, Harry had finally managed to defeat Voldemort. So many people had helped his get to this point, all but one dying in the Final Battle. At 35 years, Harry Potter sat at the desk in the headmaster's office of Hogwarts, brooding.

After so long under Riddle's control, the wizarding world was in shambles. Diagon Alley had been reduced to rubble years ago, the Ministry was something of a running joke, and even Hogwarts herself was closed indefinitely. Nothing and no one had been safe from the terror that had been Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Most notably, at least to Harry, was his friends and fiancé. And as much as he appreciated her, Hermione was hardly a comparison to Luna.

"Have you seen a hiemgall recently Harry?" Hermione teased gently as she slipped into the once noble office.

Harry sighed and glanced at her through his fringe. "…Mione, was it worth it, do you think?"

"Harry…"

"I mean _really_ Hermione. Were their lives worth _this_? This life…we're alive, but are we really living? We have nothing left for us here, and yet we stay because it would be the same anywhere else. This…this _nothingness_…sometimes I just wish," Harry deflated "never mind."

Hermione was silent, her facial expression one of pure concentration Harry hadn't seen since before the destruction of Voldemort. "Harrison James Potter, would you be willing to cease to be you?"

Harry stared wide eyed at her "Um Hermione? Would you mind explaining that question a bit?"

"My answer is dependent upon yours my friend."

Harry sighed. 'Might as well go along with it, 's not as if she means to kill me'

"Given the circumstances…yes I would. Now please explain."

"I may be able to send you back. However, you wouldn't be _you_ anymore. Reguman has revealed something to me and now that I'm sure you don't mind not being you, you can be him!" she smiled excitedly

"Please explain Hermione. In simple English so I can at least understand." Harry sighed

She sighed, slightly irritated. "OK fine, but just this once!" she took a deep breath and began.

"Ok so like I said, I was reading one of the books Dumbledore left for you, Reguman's last book, _The Fabric, _and in one of them it mentions a Celestial Gate, it is very difficult to control, as it takes a massive amount of power and good will, but if you can manage to open it, I know how to send someone back in time, the only thing is that older you cannot be in the same existence as younger you. With me so far?"

He nodded the affirmative and she continued.

"So the next step would be to have the Gate de-age you. But again, there simply cannot be more than one Harrison James Potter. So, you will have to be someone else. You got that, because the tricky part is next."

Harry, a little excited, motioned her to go on.

"So, I thought about it, and after consulting the Book of Births, I found a possibility. It turns out that your godfather was _also_ a father. Unfortunately, a few days after his birth, his home was attacked by rouge dementors…and so you will become him. Any questions?"

End Ch1

Well, there you have it. The first chapter of my first posted fanfic. I'm just so proud ;)

Anyway, I would love it if you, the reader would please review. It doesn't have to be anything special, just a hi I like or don't like your story so far or really just that someone is reading it...well that'd be good enough for me. I'm going to try to update as soon as I get whole chapters, and they will be getting longer, this was just the introduction really....but there will be sometimes I'll have something ready but cannot post because hey I'm a college student, I have classes to take, study for, and generally pass :)

-Kat


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok here it is Chapter 2! Which, yes, is in fact longer than chapter 1. It would be longer, but I'm just itching to get on with it. Hopefully I'll have more time to write chapter 3 than I had for chapter 2. And yes, I did start chapter 3 already...a little.**

**I promise, for those who hate little chapters, once this story is done, I'll post the whole thing as one big chapter, so if say you were copying stories to read onto a flashdrive, it would be quicker. During my senior year I was one of those people, and once lost my flashdrive in the middle of a good FMA story "Please, Stay" and nearly cried.**

**So anyway, here's chapter 2!**

**PS. I don't do disclaimers, its right in the fanfic name for heaven's sake, why should I bother? FANfiction. As in a FAN of the original but my brain likes coming up with alternative scenarios.**

_Recap:_

_"So, I thought about it, and after consulting the Book of Births, I found a possibility. It turns out that your godfather was also a father. Unfortunately, a few days after his birth, his home was attacked by rouge dementors…and so you will become him. Any questions?"_

oOo

Harry sat staring at Hermione. She, as usual, had gotten too excited and began to make little to no sense. In the back of his mind he questioned himself; he should've expected this.

"…would you please repeat that last bit? Slowly?"

Hermione groaned exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. Really, for a brilliant wizard Harry was rather dense.

"Your soul will take the place of one Orion Cepheus Sirius Black. You will cease to be you and become him."

"But..de-age? What was that about?"

"I believe Ms. Granger is trying to say, that the Gate _would have_ sent your body back, but you already exist there so only your soul will be sent. Unfortunately, a soul cannot replace itself, so your current soul will be attached to Orion's body instead. Do you understand Harry?" Dumbledore's portrait answered, reaching for a lemon drop out of his candy dish that the artist had so thoughtfully added.

"Is this even possible? I mean, Orion Black? He isn't on the Black Family Tapestry…" Harry asked, a little confused "was it because Sirius was burned off of it?"

"Ah, quite simple that, it is my understanding that Sirius was never disowned by his father. Only the male head of the family can formally disown someone, Sirius' mother merely burned his name on the tapestry. And little Orion never made it to the 6 month mark upon which his name would've been added making him the Black heir." Dumbledore explained again.

"Wait, 6 months? Why would that matter?" Harry asked, feeling a little ignorant.

"Infants are fragile; many don't survive the first couple months. A pureblooded family wouldn't announce the birth of an heir until they were sure it would at least have a chance to see the age of one. Many children are not taken into public until they reach the age of 5. I read all about it in _The Life and Customs of the Pureblooded_ by Augustus Audre. It was really quite insightful. Did you know it's considered bad form to bring an heir out in public until they can speak properly? To do so shows that parents don't care enough for their child to teach them to uphold the family name. Fathers are typically unaware of the child until the name appears on the tapestry, since names are chosen by the parents in the third month of pregnancy. Of course it was written years and years ago, I suppose a few things have changed; but then the purebloods do cling to tradition…" Hermione babbled

'Well that explains why Sirius wouldn't have known about his own child…unless he did know at one point and his stay in Azkaban affected him more than we originally thought'

Harry sat quietly, processing this new information carefully. "Hermione, exactly how much power is needed for this to work?"

She deflated a little as he spoke, immediately grabbing a stray piece of parchment and began scribbling calculations. "Well it depends on what you want to accomplish really. I'll have to do more in depth calculations, but I do know that its better that we aren't planning to have you de-aged and send your body back. Sending physical matter would take an astronomical amount of power; just sending one soul with memories back to attach it to a soulless body at least has a chance of being in range of what we could achieve…just give me a moment I'm sure I can finish…"

Quite suddenly, her quill paused.

"Oh dear; do you have the first Reguman book Harry?_ Life Matter_, I need to check something." Hermione whispered intently as she opened _The Fabric_ and read a rather lengthy entry.

He opened the second drawer on the left side and handed Hermione the requested reading material quietly, knowing his input was not welcome until Hermione asked him directly. An hour later, Hermione looked up into Harry's eyes.

"Well that's it then," Harry felt disappointment flare "this is no small bit of magic. Your core is the largest in recorded history since the founders of Hogwarts Harry, and I think, if you emptied your core completely, with the proper runes and preparation you might be able to do this. On the hand, if it doesn't have enough power you could fail altogether and end up trapped in purgatory."

Harry was still. Purgatory. It sounded so…shiver inducing.

"What is the risk of failure?" he wondered aloud

"You want the numbers or just a general idea?" Hermione responded lightly, knowing Harry might prefer a shorter explanation than the numbers could give.

"General idea I think." Harry spoke firmly. 'Otherwise I might scrap this idea before we really explore it, so…_'_

"The possibility for failure is much higher than success. Then again it's given, otherwise there would be people doing this all the time" Hermione paused, "Harry, I'm not going to lie to you, this is an extremely dangerous idea that could possibly kill the participant."

Harry felt his eyes widen, he didn't like the sound of that, and if Mione herself said that there was a high risk…but what other choice did he have? He couldn't see himself living in this existence much longer anyway; he felt like he was going nuts!

There was no other option for him. And if he did die, well at least they tried. Harry felt his resolve harden. They had no choice.

"Then we won't fail."

**********

6 months had passed since that day, and they were nearly done with their preparations to send Harry's…or rather, as he was coming to recognize himself, Orion's, soul back to the past. It had been a very busy and messy 6 months, if he did say so himself. With the all the researching Hermione had been doing in order to prepare him for his life as Orion Black, from the social customs to wizarding laws regarding purebloods, to the muggle stock market, Harry had basically become Hermione's own personal secretary or personal assistant. He thinks he prefers the latter, as secretary, in his opinion just screams 'female.'

Personal Assistant or no, the Headmaster office of Hogwarts was a complete mess of charts, figures, and runes. Actually, now that he thought about it, there was probably a sandwich buried under the stacks somewhere since Hermione never did get that tuna she asked for...

"Harrison James Potter, Orion Cepheus Sirius Black, WHOEVER you are! Did you memorize the stocks yet?" Hermione yelled, nose stuck in a book that, quite frankly, looked like gibberish to him.

"Please, call me Orion. I think I'm used to it now. And yes, I did, even though you said I had another 2 days. Now what do you need?"

Hermione sighed and closed her book with a thump. She was nervous, what if he figured it out? What if he figured it out and didn't care anyway?

As immediately as she thought it, she squashed it. Those kinds of thoughts weren't even logical. Harry, as her mind still stubbornly referred to him as, cared for her. She knew this. They were all each other had here after the mess with the Weasley's. She felt a pang.

The Weasley's. She and Harry had trusted them. Arthur, Molly, Percy, Ron and Ginny…Dark. No one had suspected them of treachery. And why would they? The Weasley's had supposedly been on the Light side for years. Hermione couldn't understand how Molly could possibly cause the death of Bill and Charlie, her eldest sons; her own children, murdered in cold blood. The twins, on the other hand, had disposed of their 'family' after their brothers had been cut down, they had fought valiantly, and gotten their revenge, only to be trapped by the Malfoy Sr. They died honorably, taking Lucius, Draco, and McNair with them.

Hermione, lost in her memories didn't hear Harry trying to catch her attention.

*

She hadn't responded, just stared at the book in her hands. "Hermione?" He asked, concerned for her well being. It wouldn't have been the first time she disregarded her own health for the sake of research.

"Hermione what's wrong?"

Hermione shook her head, and turned to the wall she had spent 2 months engraving. After all this time, the runes for Harry's travel were set in a circle about the size of a basketball on the wall, her own smaller set, joined by the Life and Power runes on the left.

"It's nothing…I was just thinking. Ok, so you've memorized everything, so we'll just review tomorrow and then…well. Then you take your trip."

He froze. After all this time. All the work they had done, all the paper they had wasted before deciding carved runes would be more stable…

It was finished.

**oOo**

**Yes it was short, OH WELL. I don't have a whole lot of free time, thus the fiction suffers a bit.**

**And I really do suggest that, if you have no problem with slash, and know FMA you read "Please, Stay"**

**I myself don't have a problem with slash, its just another way for things to go.**

**If you, personally, DONT like slash, well thats your opinion, you're entitled to it, and I'm entitled to mine.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Well, here you go, chapter 3. I just just finished it, spent all night (well from about 1am-7:30am) writing it. Its the quickest update so far, yay! I admit, I get writers block, but when I write, I usually keep going. So it would be longer, but I like where it ended, so I'm off to write as much of chapter 4 as possible. TTFN!

**CHAPTER THREE**

This was it, it was time.

"Are you ready Harr..Orion?" Hermione asked worriedly

He nodded his assent

"Ok well, don't forget as soon as you're able, invest, don't get into trouble on purpose, no baiting Malfoy, remember you're not the person you were, the care packages for that Harry, and as for…"

"Mione. Hermione! HERMIONE!"

Her babbling halted abruptly "Its rude to interrupt you know." She quietly reprimanded.

"Hermione." Harry chided and gave a small grin as she twirled her hair, a nervous habit of hers.

"Oh alright. Just…don't forget me ok? Not little me, I know you'll do _something_ to…but ME you know?" she whispered weakly, eyes teary.

"I could never, _never_, forget you Mione. Ever. You're my one true best friend, no one will take your place." He spoke vehemently, and she knew then, that she was doing the right thing.

Oh he would never let her do it if he knew. That much she was certain. But he's her best friend in the whole world, they lived through a war together, and school before that. He had done so much for her over the years, and really, she would never have even considered this for anyone else. She had to do this, it was _him_. Her guy. Well not _hers_ exactly, she had missed her chance on that level. Not that she blamed him, Luna was, after all, a brilliant witch, and Luna made him happy. So Hermione would do this, she would make him happy. Even if meant the end, because without him...what did she, herself have?

**oOo**

He stood cautiously in front of The Wall, examining the runes. He wasn't sure, but Hermione hadn't explained what her part in this would exactly be, and he had an odd feeling which was never a good thing. Still, he wondered, she had just skimmed over her input to the ritual…it was times like these he wished he had taken Ancient Runes and Arithmancy(?) in school. Perhaps he'd change that this time around…meh. He'd deal with that later.

"Orion, you're in the way." Hermione sighed good naturedly (?)

"Sorry Mione." He stepped backwards, a bit startled by Hermione's entrance.

"It's alright, I just need space so I can access my circle. If you're ready, we'll get started."

Orion fidgeted. He wasn't sure he could do this, not without knowing for sure what would happen to this time stream after his soul left it. Or at least what would happen to Hermione.

"Hermione can we talk for a moment?"

**oOo**

Hermione, who had been preparing for her task after Harry left, froze. He wanted to talk. Talk. After 6 months of endless research, barely having a conversation about anything else, he wanted to talk. Maybe he needed reassurance; she didn't know what else he could need to talk about…Unless..unless he figured out her part of the process and changed his mind..

"Of course Harry." She moved over to the chairs in front of the old headmaster's desk and, after moving some research papers onto the already overflowing desk, gestured for Harry to sit.

Unceremoniously plopping himself into the faded red chair, eyes focusing on Dumbledore's portrait, which started chuckling almost as soon as he let himself fall into the chair.

Once seated, however, his face scrunched as if he had smelt something unpleasant.

"Harry? Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked uncertainly, moving to sit in the chair opposite his.

Harry, whose unpleasant expression morphed into a heated glare as Dumbledore's portrait continued chuckling with more force, merely stood and whispered the cleaning charm.

Perplexed, Hermione spoke "Harry.."

"Hermione," He interrupted for the second time that hour, "you're my best friend. And honestly, you're the sister I wish I'd had." He gestured wildly "But I am Never. Ever. Making you a tuna fish sandwich again. Ever." Realizing what had happened, Hermione broke out in a fit of giggles, momentarily dispelling the tense atmosphere.

They had finally found Hermione's missing sandwich.

**oOo**

Resettling himself in the now clean chair, Harry took a deep breath and prepared himself for his last serious conversation with this Hermione.

"Mione, is there any last minute things I need to be aware of before I..leave?" he said, figuring it would be easier if he could get her to explain as if it was her idea. Which, with Hermione, honestly wasn't that difficult.

She sat in silence for several moments. She didn't know what to say. How could she avoid telling him what she was doing to herself? Did she want to? She knew what he was doing, getting her to talk without asking her what he wanted to know in hopes of her unknowingly telling him. She wasn't sure if she wanted to let him win this time. Coming to a decision, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Harry, and yes I'm going to call you Harry on your last day here. Harry, I wasn't exactly sure how to bring this up but…about the ritual…I know I never fully explained the runes…" she paused, closed her eyes and breathed in "our circles are linked by the life and power runes. The ritual will drain your core, and then once needed, it will drain mine. I'm like a backup battery." She paused again, sliding forward in her chair to take his hand.

"The life rune will then take several years off my life in order to give the gate the extra boost to send your memories. I know this isn't exactly what you thought it would be Harry, but after you're gone, well I plan to destroy my notes, the rune circles, and live in the muggle world."

He didn't know what to think. One part of him was grateful to Hermione for willingly giving up her magic for him. Another was horrified. Hermione loved being a witch, she had thrown herself into it once she had discovered what she could do. Who was he to take that away from her?

"Hermione, I can't let you do this."

"Harry, this is important! And MY decision! I want you to do this, I _need_ you to do this. After all we've done to get to this day, I will _not_ let you ruin it. You HAVE to do this Harry, don't let them win. Don't let something as little as my magic condemn everyone else! I want you to become Orion Black, son of Sirius and Hana Black, save everyone. And for heaven's sake, keep me away from the Weasleys. Please Harry, don't make me regret telling you."

She was standing directly in front of him now, staring him down. He sighed warily. The look in her eyes told him there was only one answer she would accept, only one choice. He had to do it, and he was going to do it today.

**oOo**

"A-are you _sure_ Hermione? You'll never get your magic back." He cautioned, needlessly. Hermione knew this better than anyone, she was the one to cause Blaise Zabini to become muggle inadvertently.

"Place your right hand in the center of the circle Harry."

Standing side to side, hands in the center of their respective circles, they began channeling their magic into the runes. Out of nowhere, the wind picked up, scattering the papers in the office, and blowing hair and clothes around the two. Still they continued pumping power into the runes, which were glowing with an intense white light.

And before he could blink, Harry was sucked into his circle hand first.

**oOo**

It's said that before you die, you can see your life pass before your very eyes. That in the blink of an eye, you could relive an entire lifetime, only to reach the end of your existence on the mortal plane. You might wake up in Heaven, Hell…or if you're particularly unlucky, somewhere in the middle.

For Harry, it was black, noisy, and rather squishy. Kinda like when you step on a piece of butter. Not unpleasant, exactly, but kinda weird and definitely not expected.

Then again, being a baby in this mysterious dark place is not Harry's idea of safe. After all, a baby can't very well protect itself, can it. Opening his eyes completely now, he tried to figure out where he was. Where did his mother _put_ him?! And why did there feel like there was another…existence…in his head?

It was then he noticed his bellybutton.

Or rather, his lack of bellybutton.

He was in the womb.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

A/N: If you can't tell, I'm not the biggest fan of Hermione…Oh and I don't have a beta. I was going too, I even started looking at them. I made it through the first 5 before I decided it wasn't worth it.

If there's a problem with the story, I expect someone to notice it eventually and tell me to fix it. I do it for silly things like waist and waste. That one actually bothers me.

So I'm very excited to be on a few peoples' fav. List and/or story alert, anyone who reviews, if there is something to respond to (and sometimes not) I try to respond back. Im just sorry there is no scheduled updates, I can't commit to that. The story WILL be completed…

Right now I have finals to study for (they're in like 2 ½ weeks) family obligations (baby showers, weddings etc.) AND I happen to be writing about 5 fics. Only 2 even have the first chapter posted here, one not on this name as you can tell…point is, im very very busy and I write when the mood strikes me.

**oOo**

The wind was blowing her hair into her face, but she knew if she disconnected her hand from the wall, it wouldn't work, and she would have lost Harry for nothing.

Clenching her teeth, Hermione focused on her magic. She knew she should have told Harry the whole truth, but if he knew he would never have given in to her glare. He was too self-sacrificing that he wouldn't want her to do the same.

She was going to give more of her life force in order to have just enough magic left to erase the runes from the wall and apprate to her parents' house.

She would live out her remaining days as her mother's elderly great aunt Minnie, in honor of Hermione's head of house.

She could feel her magic being taken from her, then, just before it was completely gone; she willed her life force instead of her magic. She could physically feel herself aging as its power was put into the ritual. Could see her hair changing color in front of her face, her skin start to shrivel, her body begin to feel heavy as age set in. She hoped it was over soon, it was getting harder to support herself.

The runes of the ritual were glowing brightly than before as she glanced at Harry. The runes of his circle were rotating; it would happen soon, she was sure of it. She kept her eyes trained on him, hoping their plan would work. After what seemed like hours, in actuality she knew were only a few moments, Harry jerked a bit as if having a small seizure, and abruptly collapsed.

Just as suddenly, the wind vanished, and a 90 year old Hermione stood next to a fresh corpse, the glow of the runes slowly fading.

She stands still, hand still positioned in her own rune circle. They did it. They had successfully sent a soul to the past! Harry's body, she knew, was fading away, it too being used to power the ritual.

Regaining herself, the newly dubbed Minnie made her way over to the fireplace, pulling out her wand she shrunk her research down and levitated it into yet to be lit fire. She stared at her research, she had bound it into books, well most of it. It pained her to do, yet she lit the fire. Turning away, content to let it burn to ashes so she could vanish it, she turned her attention to the runes engraved in the wall. One quick reducto and the runes were destroyed, though she fixed the wall. Wouldn't want anyone to have reason to investigate a mysterious missing chunk of Hogwarts; it was best to just be rid of the evidence. She quickly vanished the ashes of her research. She could feel herself tiring; she had never been the strongest in magical power. Returning her attention to the headmaster's office, she scans the room; it's as if no ritual had taken place here. Satisfied, she prepares herself for her last act of magic. With a deep breath, she drew the last bit of her magic, glad she had been tuned to the wards so she didn't have to walk to the gates, and apprated away from the school, and world that had been her purpose for the majority of her life.

**(~:FLASHBACK:~)**

They were in the library, sitting at Hermione's favorite table, searching for information on the mysterious Hana Lee Black nee Howl. The Howl family was an old pureblood family, not Ancient, but old. Sirius was originally planned to marry Hana's elder sister Ebba Aethelburh Howl, however Ebba was the proper pureblood, something Sirius rebelled against. He and Hana bumped into each other in the hallways of Hogwarts as Sirius was running from a prank, and dragged her into an abandoned classroom to avoid the heard of students that had been running from the aftereffects of said prank. The Hogwarts paintings had been helpful in that respect. However, despite researching for a week, the allotted time Hermione has designated to this task, they hadn't found much more information after Hana and Sirius had graduated. Hana had been a ravenclaw, and had the second highest grades in her year, Lilly Evans being the first. Hana had been well liked by student and teacher alike. Other than that, they could only guess as to what she was like.

They had discovered that, after five years of Sirius' imprisonment, her grandfather passed away and her father annulled her marriage. Hermione explained that the patriarch of the family gives permission to marry, which is why Hana and Sirius were able to marry in the first place. Hana had been close to her grandfather, Alexander Howl. He doted on her, and willed his vast estate to her upon his passing. Hana's father, Barrett Howl, had been drawn into Riddle's web, causing an estranged relationship to occur between Barrett and Alexander. It had grown worse over the years, and once Barrett realized he would be left a pauper, the fat lady's friend Violet informed them, Barrett had devised a plan to get the fortune he believed was rightfully his, as the only male in the line. A week later, Alexander was dead, and Hana's marriage was annulled. After all, Barrett wouldn't want the estate to go to the Black vault, which he had no claim too. Hana had mysteriously died in a portkey mishap just a few days after the annulment became final. Barrett successfully carried out his plan, but he had forgotten the portrait of his ancestor Bernard in the room when Barrett poisoned his father. Barrett had informed his father of his plan as Alex slowly died from the poison. Bernard, once a great friend to the goblins, had informed Gringotts of the fraud. Having broken one of the family's rules of inheritance, the goblins had frozen the account once Hana had met her end.

It wasn't exactly the history Harry had been hoping to discover, but it was helpful all the same. He now knew to watch out for his new family. Still, he wished he could have found more information on his new mother other than her death.

**(~:End Flashback:~)**

Minnie/Hermione appeared in her old bedroom, it had already been redesigned to fit Minnie's new age. She felt a wave of despair; she only had a few years left in her. She would never get to be married, or have children. She wouldn't outlive her parents; not that they knew it, she had removed their very memory of Hermione, and created Minnie Granger's existence months ago when she had told Harry she had gone to get a reference book. Right. As of this moment, she thought, Hermione Jane Granger ceased to exist, leaving only Minnie Jane Granger. It didn't help much.

**oOo**

Ok so it was pretty short…it's a kinda filler. But it was necessary I think. So, in case you were wondering…I put actual thought into the Howl family names, researched old English names and everything. Next chapter should be out soon, I'm almost finished with it.

English Names:

Hana means Bud/Blossom Lee means clearing or meadow.

Alexander: great protector

Ebba: boar

Aethelburh: noble fortress

Barrett: bear-like

Bernard: stern bear

Howl: Admittedly I'm a fan of Howl's Moving Castle (movie and book) and I like saying Hana Howl


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

A/N: from here on out I'm going to refer to Harry as Orion

A few notes: a baby's gender can be found out any time after 10 weeks, which is 70 days, which is 2.5 months.

Babies CAN open their eyes in the womb; their eyes are fused shut until 27 to 28 weeks into the pregnancy. They also can open their mouth, and may suck on their thumb.

Here's another chapter, EXTRA EARLY so I can focus on my finals next week instead of this!

Don't expect this to happen again, b/c even Im surprised at how quickly I wrote it. :)

**oOo**

He was in the womb.

The _womb._

As in, INSIDE someone's STOMACH. Well ok, it wasn't just someone, it was his mother, but _still_ this was one memory he could do without!

And for that matter, how was he here! This shouldn't have happened, he was supposed to come after the dementors were chased away by his mother and replace the original Orion's soul. He froze mid-thought.

The Dementors.

How was he supposed to survive the attack? What was he supposed to do?!

Ok Orion, don't panic.

He squirmed, trying to find a comfortable position. There has to be a magical logical explanation for this. Hermione double and triple checked her calculations, there's no way this would have happened unless the magic had a reason for it. Now all I have to do is figure out the reason. That should be easy.

Right, and then I'll spout a friggin' _TAIL_!

OK, ok. DO NOT PANIC. Just think calmly…calmly and rationally.

He flailed his arms, his little tiny baby-womb arms. Stupid womb. He didn't even know how long he'd have to spend in here either. Not like he had a calendar or something. Ugh. Womb. How was he going to get out of this one?

…

……

………….

Waaaaiiiittt…he was in the womb. That means he'd have to leave it…by way of his mother's…EW!

Oh Ewwwwww. He _soo_ didn't the memory of his birth for the rest of his life. He shuddered.

His 'container' was moving itself. He felt a bit of pressure where his head would be, had he not been in his 'container.'

"Active this morning, aren't we Orion, just like your father already hmm?" Oh it was the voice! He liked the voice, it was nice.

Wait a minute. Where had that come from, he hadn't heard that voice before. Oh, of course, the original Orion would recognize his mother's voice. So that was his mother. Hmm. He wondered what she looked like in person; they never did find a picture of her. He also wondered about himself, what he would look like. No one knew, since the original Orion died, he pretty much had a brand new life. Well, he _would_ if he could be born and somehow survive the dementors.

He tried to remember all the information he had learned about dementors, from 3rd year. Dementors, black-cloaked, thrive on misery reasoning: otherwise the Patronus wouldn't work, as it is made by happy thoughts. He snorted: happy thoughts, reminded him of Peter Pan when the children are learning to fly. Anyway dementors… deadly attack, Dementor's Kiss, where the soul is sucked out a body. They were generally performed by one dementor with one victim.

One on one…does that mean…they can only suck out one soul at a time!

And since he currently was in possession of two…he just had to make sure the right soul was taken. Maybe…was it possible that _that_ was the reason he was currently enwomb? Hermione _did_ say that only one Harry Potter could exist at once… maybe that extended to souls as well. After all, what were soulmates supposed to do if there were 2 of 1 soul?

It did make sense in a 'haha you went through all that trouble for nothing,' sort of way.

Well that just…sucked.

**oOo**

It had to have been a few hours since he realized magic's plan. Or at least part of it. Hopefully he wouldn't spout a tail anytime soon….

None the less, Orion was bored. And extremely uncomfortable. He hoped that it was later in his mother's pregnancy, if not because he had nothing to do but think, then for the fact that there wasn't much room to move around, trapped as he was.

**oOo**

After a while, he came to recognize the passing of the days by his mother's movements affecting his 'container.' As he refused to think of it as anything else that would lead to thinking of his only way _out_.

His mother spoke to him often, about the most random of things; many times he thought she was speaking French to him, though he could never be certain.

He found her voice relaxing, and often drifted off in the middle of one of her stories.

**oOo**

It was about week later that he heard him.

His mother told him Sirius was away on assignment. He had forgotten Sirius was an Auror, and didn't that just make him nostalgic. He had liked the godfather Sirius was. Orion understands, however, that it was probably the loss of his son that tormented Sirius the most in prison.

"You're going to be the best Junior Marauder, just you wait, we'll have prank wars with James and _his_ son and we'll turn their hair yellow! It'll be great! I've already got the spell worked out, so all you have to do is get here!" Sirius babbled more to Orion than he had ever spoken to Harry.

He doesn't hold it against him.

**oOo**

Another week passed any Orion was getting cranky. He had nothing to do, no one to talk to that could HEAR HIM, and his 'container' was not very accommodating to his comfort needs. All in all, his life so far as a baby was just plain _annoying._

**oOo**

He's awoken later that day, at first he doesn't understand why.

Once he realizes what is happening he buries his consciousness to the far corner of his mind. There is _no bloody way_ he's going to have this ingrained in his memory if he has anything to say about it. Nope.

Not a snowball's chance in Hell.

**oOo**

His mother is sleeping. His father…well.

"Congratulations Siri!" His father is being congratulated by his friends. Not that Sirius was aware of it.

Orion is currently being stared at by his father. It's probably the weirdest thing he can remember Sirius doing. He's just staring, not making a sound, or acknowledging anyone else. Which is actually pretty creepy, seeing as Sirius is just STARING at him.

Orion yawns. Sirius stares.

Orion blinks. Sirius stares.

Orion wrinkles his nose. Sirius stares.

Orion mentally cackles. Sirius stares.

Orion cries. Sirius panics.

Bingo.

**oOo**

Being a baby was relatively boring. He was tried all the time. Or hungry. He had gotten used to not being hungry.

He really didn't like having his diaper changed the muggle way. It was embarrassing, not to mention the fact he needed a diaper.

But his mother was teaching his father a lesson on responsibility.

No automatic diaper change for Orion.

Stupid baby-ness.

**oOo**

He didn't know how it happened. Really, he didn't. Everything was messed up, it had been a month and a half since he was born…

The dementors hadn't attacked

He was very confused.

**oOo**

Orion lay in his cradle, thinking. He was almost 3 months old now. A few days off, and he still had no way to successfully avoid/prevail over the dementors he knew to be coming...he refused to believe he was safe, that was usually how he got into trouble.

Since his *shudders* _birth_ he had been focusing on forging an early link to his magic, and he was making headway but there was no way he would be ready in time to successfully drive the dementors away.

There was nothing he could really do. He had no way to control which soul the dementor took. He didn't want to give up, they had given up so much for this chance…but he wasn't even 3 months old, he wouldn't be able to access his magic for another 2 at the earliest the way he was working at it.

He had tried to stall Sirius' leaving during his lunch today, unfortunately his father had a 2 week assignment from the ministry and couldn't stay as long as Orion would have liked. Not to mention Orion had become quite tired, and had been put down in the living room for a nap. He had realized this was where the attack would take place, and raised a fuss about it, but his mother had simply set the piano on his lullaby and gone back to the kitchen to finish cleaning his mess and firecalled her grandfather to set up a visit.

Orion had refused to sleep without someone in the room with him. Usually he didn't have to worry about it; Sirius had been a dutiful guard. But his father had left for some ministry thing, and though his mother was nearby, he had an odd feeling that this would be the day.

He wasn't wrong.

A mere 30 minutes after his mother checked on his, an hour into his 'nap,' his magic fluttered. He watched, in frightened awe as a dementor floated into the room. Apparently only goblins can ward against them, and it was rather pricey to do.

It glided closer, its darkness commanding attention as the chill began to set into Orion's bones. He kept his eyes rooted on the dementor, as he wailed his distress, hoping to alert his mother before it had a chance to retrieve his soul. As it came closer, Orion could hear Lilly Potter pleading with Voldemort from the memories of Harry occupying his brain. Could feel the dread rising within him as his worst memories from his other life began to flow through his mind at an astonishing rate.

The dementor slowly lifted its spindly hands to the hood of its cloak, reveling in the misery the tiny child emitted in its presence. Orion's cries grew louder, more frenzied than before. As the hood lowered, he saw the gaping mouth of the creature as it lowered itself closer to Orion's body. Panicking, he tried calling on his magic in a desperate attempt to survive the encounter. But it was no use; his body wasn't ready to handle much power yet. He could feel both the Harry and Orion soul writhing within him. He could no longer fight it, his souls were detaching from his body by the dementor's 'call.' Orion felt himself losing the fight for consciousness when at last he heard the shout of his mother attempting to save her child: "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

His last sight of his mother's patronus faded to darkness as Orion finally lost his battle with the rogue creature.

**oOo**

Hana Black nee Howl had never been fond of the pureblood idea of using nanny elves to raise children. Oh sure she had been raised that way and she turned out alright, but her grandfather, her Pappy, had taken her under his wing. Her sister Ebba, unfortunately, hadn't had Pappy to be with, Hana's father had only dismissed Hana as a spare child in case anything befell his eldest. Ebba had been assigned a trio of nanny elves to cater to her ever whim, Hana herself only having one elf. Ebba had become exactly what her father had wished of his heir; after all he had been cursed impotent by his Lord. Ebba was spoiled as a child, and had never grown out of it.

Ebba was not popular with the pureblood males in school; her eyes too close together along with her snob like attitude had not helped with suitors. Thus, 2 years after she graduated, in Hana and Sirius' 6th year, the girls' father came to an agreement with the Blacks. That, she remembered fondly, was the beginning of Sirius and Hana's relationship, though neither had any idea at the time. Realizing her thoughts had drifted she shook her head gently, back to thinking of nanny elves. Initially she and Sirius had decided against it, after all there were two of them and only one child. They figured they could handle it, and their friends agreed to help as well, especially Lilly who was preparing for her own son's birth 4 months away. But, she thought ryely, eyeing the mess that become Orion's lunch, it might be nice to have an elf to help a bit when Sirius was away.

"Orion you little scamp! Throwing your lunch at your father, I hope this doesn't become habit." She smiled at him, tickling his tummy causing him to giggle. Sirius was due to leave on assignment for a few weeks; Orion's little show delaying his departure. Which, considering Sirius' fascination with Orion, honestly wasn't that difficult.

Sirius and Hana had been discussing his trip, Sirius had been dragging his feet all day, when Orion's lunch had dumped itself over Sirius' head. They had both frozen in shock, Orion giggling from his baby chair.

"His first bit of accidental magic!" Sirius grinned brightly, sticking his face close to Orion's own head "He's a GENIUS! Doesn't want daddy to go do you, well I'm sure I can get another week off, I.."

"Sirius Black! You are NOT taking another week off work, they'll fire you! Or at the _very_ least cut down your vacation time! You'll end up working during Yule, you don't want to miss your son's first Christmas holiday do you?" Hana scolded

Sirius deflated a bit, he didn't want to leave Padfoot was being squirmy. He was about to reply to his wife's not-quite-a-question when…

It was at this moment Orion made a weird face before…he sneezed a cute little sneeze.

Immediately focused on his son, Sirius picked him up, he began feeling his forehead and gazing into blue eyes searching for illness.

"Hana Banana, he sneezed! Is he sick? Did you take his temperature? Do we need to go to St. Mungo's?!"

"Sirius, he sneezed. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure he'll be fine, I'll check him. In the meantime, go get changed. Go to work. We'll be here when you get back; I promise we're not going anywhere."

And, after promising him she would take pictures at various times during the weeks, he left.

Hana noticed Orion's yawn as she started to clean the kitchen, which hadn't been done lately. Sighing, she wished again for just one elf so she could spend more time with her son. She wiped him down, and carried him into the next room where Sirius liked to sit and read with Orion…or rather watching Orion sleep. She laughed, remembering catching him watching Orion as Padfoot on many occasions.

She gently lowered Orion into his bassinette, noticed his unusual fussing, she started the piano on his lullaby. Slowly making her way back to the kitchen, she paused and checked his health with a quick spell. Relieved with its results, she made her way to the fireplace in the kitchen to speak with her grandfather.

As much as she tried to be in control, she was just as captivated with Orion as Sirius was. She had never thought she could love someone as much as she loved her son. But now that he was here, she firmly believed that she had never really felt such a connection than the love of her son and husband. This brought a smile to her face.

**oOo**

It wasn't long after she heard Orion begin to cry. Figuring he was hungry again, she said goodbye to her grandfather and started making up a bottle. A few minutes later, she felt it, that unnatural coldness she knew could only be associated with one thing. Dropping the almost ready bottle once Orion's screams increased, she grasped for her wand she had left on the far counter, she dashed to the doorway leading into the living room praying it wasn't near her son.

It was hovering closely to him, lowering its hood. She paled, raised her wand and screamed the protection charm.

A quick burst of silver light flared from the doorway as Hana Black focused on her son, hoping she had arrived in time. Much to her surprise, instead of her usual rabbit, a wolf burst quickly from the end of her wand. For a few moments she was still, watching the wolf chase the dementor away before realizing Orion had stopped his wailing and was much too quiet after such an experience.

Hana ran to Orion's bassinette, desperate to see any sign of life behind her only child's eyes.

END CHAPTER FIVE

So there you go, a little Hana POV. Now im probably not going to update for a while, so...yep TTFN (not too long, it'll probably be like a month and a half or so, which I finf fair since I've updated very recently)


	6. Chapter 6

Ok I lied. Its not even been a month and here I am posting another chapter. I don't know what to say, I was inspired after having NOTHING since I posted last. But really, I cant promise regular updates, though I'll try not to take more than a month or so if I can help it...which i _guess_ is regularish updates...eh whatever. By the way, I find Im good at starting stories, if anyone has an idea but cant seem to start the story, Id be happy to give it a shot...or give you one of the stories I've written that only have one chapter...

**Chapter Six**

There was nothing.

Nothing to hear, nothing to smell, nothing to taste, and absolutely nothing to see.

There was just _nothing_.

Never had there ever just been _nothing;_ at least to Orion's knowledge. O f course according to muggle Christianity, god created everything, so before then would logically have been nothing…not that he was Christian.

He glanced down at himself, noticing that he appeared (here?) exactly as he had lain in his home. He was wearing a ridiculous ducky outfit; it was white with rubber duckies swimming around his waist and smiling duck footsies. His mother thought it was adorable, his father had mentioned something about blackmail once he came of age. His parents. The dementors. Oh jeez.

He didn't know what happened, it didn't seem likely that those whom the dementors kiss were released from their earthly bonds and allowed to the afterlife, after all the point of having a person's soul removed by a dementor was so that the person spent eternity _away_ from the afterlife. So what in Merlin's name..?

He sat there for what seemed like forever, but must have only been a few minutes before blue mist softly entered the area, concentrating in front of him, forming a golden haired curvaceous woman. She was quite tall, dressed in a flowy white dress with a gold leafy overlay over her upper body that accented her hair and drew more attention to her large round cerulean eyes.

"Well I must say, I do like your representation of Myself. Perhaps I'll keep it a while." The woman smiled at him widely.

"Upt…what?" he sputtered; vaguely aware of the fact he was still a baby and was not supposed to be able to speak correctly quite yet.

"Ok kid, here's the thing, there simply cannot be two of one soul. It messes up Fate's grand plan of soulmates, and she's no fun when she's pouting. On the other hand, you were allowed to travel back in because the reality that was your old life was doomed. I was dying. I'm an immortal being, I'd really rather not die. Add to that the fact that it was the same soul of Harry Potter in this time, makes him have a sort of horcrux…So I'm going to allow you keep a good chunk of your 'Harry' memories for you to keep. You can't have all of them, it wouldn't end well for your brain. Get it?" she grinned happily

"Um..who _are_ you?"

Her grin abruptly fell from her face. "And here I thought you were clever. Very well," she sighed "I'm Magic. You can call me Maggie. We're going to be great friends…well sort of."

Orion was gobsmacked, he was in front of Magic herself…Maggie Magic. That was a bit amusing he supposed. "So…what you're saying is that the important Harry memories will stay, connected to the Orion soul, the Harry soul was taken by the dementor because otherwise Fate would be annoyed…anything I missed?" he recited dutifully, brow creased in thought.

"Nope! Well….you do have to do a few things for me. Do you mind?" He was cautious, "What would I have to do?"

"No no silly! You'll know when I want you to know." She waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

"Can I think about it?"

"Oh, sure. Take all the time you need to come to an informed decision! Just as long as you have an answer in the next," she took a glance at a delicate bracelet/watch on her right wrist "two minutes."

Orion's eyes bugged out a bit. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll be giving you gifts to help your cause." She said calmly, eyes sparkling.

Well that was just…weird. Magic herself huh? Seems a bit out there. Even for him. And he had died and came back to life due to a horcrux and everything. But did he really have a choice? Somehow he didn't think he would be allowed to keep his memories if he chose not to do…whatever it was she wanted him to do. He mentally sighed. There wasn't really any way out of this if he wanted to make a real difference in this timeline.

Bring his attention back to his present situation; he noticed some music playing in the backround. It was oddly familiar…was that… the Jeopardy song? Despite the seriousness of the situation, Orion grinned. It was the little things really that made a person find humor.

"I don't really see a reason to say no…provided these things you want me to do won't get me arrested…or killed…"

Maggie, who had been standing so still that if he hadn't known any better, he would have thought she was a statue, clapped her hands and giggled like a child, her smile lighting up her face.

"Oh goodie! I've been waiting for you, you know. I haven't had a proper Gifted in _ages_!" She circled him, examining. "This will be difficult for you I believe. Yes. But you need it. And you simply cannot have one without the other; it'd be like having a thumb that doesn't move. Yes, I think that will do nicely. Right, well here goes." She finished her circling, stopping in front of him placing her hands gently on the sides of his head, close to his eyes. Her hands began to glow a pure, blinding white so bright Orion couldn't see her anymore, though he could still feel her hands steadily holding to his head. It was this way for longer than he could keep track of, until he felt her hands loosen, and heard she gently whispered, "Sleep Orion Black: Gifted Child of Fire and Protection"

**oOo**

His eyes were closed.

He hadn't responded to her. At all.

It had been almost an hour.

Yet somehow, she couldn't bring herself to call the Aurors. Sirius hadn't been scheduled to leave until one, and it was only noon. She didn't think she could take knowing that she had been the one to send Siri away from Orion…but she didn't think it would be the last time they were together as a family it..she couldn't… she couldn't bring herself to leave his side, he was just sleeping is all. That's all, it had to be. It just _had_ to be. Orion couldn't have been…the dementor..she let out a whimpering cry.

She sat across from the bassinette she had carefully inspected before deeming it perfect for her son. Her son. She rose on unsteady feet, making her way once again to Orion. Looking down at him she could have smiled, had she not known what she knew. He looked as if he was sleeping, just taking his morning nap. She shakily reached out to him, running her hands over him, caressing his tiny face. She began speaking, though she wasn't paying much attention to what was coming out of her mouth.

**oOo**

He could feel hands touching his face. He had fallen asleep, wasn't she finished yet? But wait, that wasn't Maggie's voice…it was..his mother? But he couldn't quite make out what she was saying…

"..So sorry baby I..I didn't...I should've gotten here faster, I.." she sobbed

Oh this wasn't good. His mother thought he was dead..or rather a soulless husk…he sincerely hoped this hadn't happened in the last timeline.

Struggling to bring himself to full consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes and let himself whine a little as his mother began pulling away.

At the noise, Hana froze, barely trusting her own ears, daring herself to hope, before turning her full attention on the awakening baby. Orion let out a cry, clearly wanting her attention. And boy did he have it. Immediately he was scooped out of his bassinette, clutched in his mother's arms.

**oOo**

The next few hours were a steady blur of people. Healers poked and prodded him, making sure he was in full health, Aurors trampling through the house, his mother and father were never farther than 5 feet away, ready to grab him if he so much as squawked. As much as his parents loved him, he didn't want to know how this day had ended before Harry had traveled back…

**oOo**

Later that night, crib moved, once again, to his parents' room, Orion laid thinking over the day from beginning to end. What Maggie had said about soulmates had really struck a chord within him. He, as Harry, believed Luna to be it. His true soul mate, they were complementary in so many ways. So if he pursued Luna…he as Orion would be taking Harry's mate. On the other hand, Harry was attracted to other girls; maybe he would find someone else. But could Orion really do that to Harry? Could he take the only real bright spot in Harry's life away from him for Orion's own selfish purposes?

He yawned widely, it was too late for him to up, but Sirius and Hana were taking shifts watching him tonight and he wanted to reassure them a bit. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so long as he could help it anyway.

He had time to reflect on the Luna/Harry/Orion problem later. Right now he was _tired_. Yawning widely again, Orion let his eyelids fall shut, succumbing to sleep, his father rocking him in an automated rocking chair.

**End Chapter Six**

**Just a note: .net/s/5563431/1/Dabbling_With_The_Dark is a really good slash story for those of you that like it**

**for those of you who prefer Het...well those are a bit harder for me to find the good ones, if i have some, they're on my favorites list or C2 Im too tired to go check right now sorry maybe next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: A few things**

**to APO: thank you for bringing it to my attention, all future chapters will be alligned to the left :)**

**to Vellouette: I was thinking of having a snippit of Sirius' POV about the dementor thing in the next (this) chapter but it sort of...mutated...into a chapter by itself :D**

**As for who is going to end up with Orion and who is going to end up with Harry...I have several ways this could go**

Chapter Seven

He couldn't believe Orion was nearly 3 months old already.

It seemed like he was just born the last week, he swore. Looking back now, Orion was tiny. Even more so than he had first thought, Orion had grown so much since that day. Sirius spent more and more time playing with him, making him smile and laugh than he did watching him sleep. Newborns were asleep most of the time, waking only to eat or have their diaper changed. In all honesty, had he not fallen in love with the kid, he would have thought him boring. But as Orion's father he felt the familial connection between them. Of course it was better now that Orion was a bit older and more interactive.

Still, Sirius still checked in on him frequently; Hana was tolerant, though he swore he caught her doing the same thing almost as often as him did. This only made him feel better about doing it, because he knew, even as Hana was telling him their son didn't need _constant_ supervision, he saw the joy in her eyes and the smile lurking on the edges of her mouth; that she was happy he wanted to spend time with Orion…even if he couldn't really do much yet.

God, he remembered finding out Hana was pregnant. She had been feeling a bit off, suspected that she had the flu. They hadn't wanted to leave the safety of their home, not with Voldemort's forces growing steadily. Not that many people left their homes much now anyway. But he had insisted she get checked out after 2 weeks of paying homage to the porcelain goddess. He had been afraid she had caught some incurable disease and would die leaving all alone to stand with his friends against Voldemort and have no one to share the peace that was sure to come once Volde was defeated, Sirius would never get over Hana's death and would die a lonely old wrinkly man in a dusty grim old house who would later be found by a house elf, for surely no one else would notice the absence of a certifiable hermit…he always had been a bit dramatic. When he explained his fear to Hana, she had lightly hit him and called him a loveable idiot. Her loveable, if overdramatic, idiot.

And so they made an appointment at St. Mungo's. They had waiting anxiously in the waiting room for Hana to be called, not liking being away from home; it was making them twitchy, what with the recent attacks. Sirius had been sure Hana would only be given a few months to live, for surely, that was something that would happen to someone who made him happy. Hana had been expecting them to give her a potion regimen and be done with it.

Needless to say, they were quite shocked to find Hana wasn't really sick at all, at least not in a way that needed healing potions. They hadn't even _considered_ that she might be pregnant. They hadn't exactly been trying...practicing, yes, deliberately _trying_ however…Never the less, they were expecting their first child. And once Sirius was picked up off the floor, they were ecstatic.

When James and Lilly found they too were pregnant a few months later, well James and Sirius had a few drinks, panic sessions, and once Remus groaned about the second generation…began plotting a friendly prank war between the families. Remus made sure they wrote some things down; after all, they didn't want their great-great-great-great-great grandchildren's grandchildren to think it was a _feud_ or something.

**oOo**

The next few months weren't too much different than before….if you didn't count Hana upchucking in the morning and crying over stepping on a spider. So she was a bit more emotional than normal, it was fine with him, seeing as she was in the _mood_ more often. That was one perk of pregnancy he really didn't mind, and it made up for the crying thing, mostly. It was actually during one of these _moods_ they first felt Orion kicking.

They were laying on the couch, Sirius over Hana, making out when…"Holy shit!" "Oh my god!" Sirius flung himself off Hana and the couch, going to stand a bit away from her. "What the hell was that?" he was freaked, her stomach just like fluttered or something! She, on the other hand was excited, completely out of the mood. "He moved! You felt it right? He moved, he moved! Oh this is so cool, I've got to call Lilly!" she babbled, slipping into the kitchen to firecall Lilly. Sirius just stood, frozen in his spot across the room. He was excited, yes I mean really, his kid just proved he was like _there but…_had he just been cock-blocked by his own kid, who hadn't even been born yet. Orion was _so_ a maurader!

When he mentioned it to Hana she just laughed. "Maybe we should write it down? You know, his first act as a Marauder?" she grinned. "Nah, I have a memory like a giraffe." he proudly exclaimed, chest puffed out. "You..An elephant?" she asked, correcting him. "Are you calling me fat?" he frowned, misunderstanding.

Hana had written the whole thing in Orion's baby book for future reference, regardless of Sirius' giraffe like memory, laughing the whole time.

**oOo**

His son was growing up. Oh sure, it had only been a few months, but he was bigger. Sirius had seen his second cousin Draco Malfoy being paraded around by Narcissa recently; Draco was _little,_ like _tiny_. At first he had just thought that it was just Draco, but Hana had pointed out the first pictures of Orion and, turns out, Draco was just a normal newborn. Orion looked like a giant in comparison…well not a Giant giant, just you know…bigger.

He was sitting up all on his own now. Sirius hadn't expected that to happen for a while yet. He was just getting used to _having_ a kid, knowing what he wanted when all of a sudden he changed. Orion was staying awake longer, laughing, and smiling…the things people first think when they think about babies. He was also getting started on eating real food, those baby 'cookie' thingys. Well ok it was more like he put them in his mouth then stuck them to the walls, but they weren't very good, so Sirius didn't hold it against him.

In regard to looks, Orion had Hana's toes and nose, but was otherwise a clone of Sirius. Hana was a little miffed at that… "Great, I carry you around for 9 months, lose sight of my ankles, let you use my bladder as a trampoline, keep me up at night, and this is the thanks I get? You have my nose, toes and eyes. Hmm…Tell you what. If you promise to be adorable I think I can forgive you. Hows that? Deal?" She grinned, changing his diaper. A moment later, Orion gurgled. "Ok ok so you can grow up and be handsome, but for the next 10 years you'll be adorable. You drive a hard bargain, but it's a deal." She laughed, tickling him.

Ok so she didn't _really_ have a problem with it, after all she did marry Sirius right? She had to have liked his looks a _little_ bit. :)

**oOo**

A few days before the morning of Orion's 3 month birthday on July 15th, Sirius woke in a bit of a mood. He was scheduled to go on a 2 week assignment investigating the town of Little Hangleton, on an anonymous tip mind you, for information on Voldemort's headquarters. Though scheduled for 2 weeks, it was one of those assignments that could easily be extended and/or be incredibly dangerous; an anonymous tip was just that _anonymous_ it could be real, sure, but more likely it was either a dead end or a trap. They were to be camping, the muggle way, and were only allowed magic if they found something important or we in real danger. It was a sucky assignment, and with Orion's 3 month birthday, Sirius really didn't want to go. Like _really_, Hana made the best chocolate cake. Nevertheless, he had been taking too many days off to be home, which was part of the reason he had been stuck on this assignment, and he knew he had to go. That didn't, however, mean he would go peacefully.

So he got out of bed early to spend some time with Orion before he left for the ministry.

Orion was acting…a little weird. He wasn't all that interested in his toys, and was being too quiet for a baby his age. Sirius tried everything, but only managed to make him laugh a few times. He kept his worries to himself for the time being, as he didn't want to worry Hana too much too soon. By lunchtime however, Orion seemed to be himself, and Sirius and Hana began discussing what he could about his trip. He really didn't want to go…has he mentioned that they will have essentially _no magic_ at all? How about that he didn't like going on assignment with just Moody, who constantly spouted CONSTANT VIGILANCE which couldn't be well for a slightly 'under the radar' operation? Or that he just really _really_ didn't want to go? He was right in the middle of complaining about missing Hana's cake and Orion when Sirius felt, and saw pudding running down his head, over his face. Immediately Hana and Sirius halted their conversation, looking over at their giggling son. They both rushed over to him, invading the baby's personal space. Sirius in particular, but hey, he was excited, his first born son was displaying magic sooner than 95% of other children. "His first bit of accidental magic!" Sirius laughed, what a great story for the future, his second generation marauder was way ahead of the game. "He's a GENIUS! Doesn't want daddy to go do you, well I'm sure I can get another week off, I.." he was looking forward to bragging about this to James as soon as he could clean up a little and get over there…maybe he could get the record from the ministry?... "Sirius Black! You are NOT taking another week off work, they'll fire you! Or at the _very_ least cut down your vacation time! You'll end up working during Yule, you don't want to miss your son's first Christmas holiday do you?" Hana scolded him gently.

Sirius deflated a bit at that. There was no way he was missing his son's first Yule holiday. Not. Happening. On the other hand….Opening his mouth, ready to explain that he really didn't have to work anymore anyway and they were in war so they wouldn't fire him exactly, he noticed Orion scrunching his face and sneezed. Attention immediately refocused on his son, Sirius picked him up, he began feeling his forehead and gazing into blue eyes searching for illness. "Hana Banana, he sneezed! Is he sick? Did you take his temperature? Do we need to go to St. Mungo's?" The sneeze, along with the weird attitude this morning worried him. He ddnt want anything to happen to Orion, he was rather attached to him. "Sirius, he sneezed. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure he'll be fine, I'll check him. In the meantime, go get changed. Go to work. We'll be here when you get back; I promise we're not going anywhere." He could hear the smile in her voice, even as she was telling him to leave them for a while.

And so, after a shower (he was stalling a bit, so what?), change of clothes and demanding she photograph the next few weeks until he got home, she literally pushed him through the floo to the Ministry. He loved a feisty woman.

**oOo**

The meeting before the trip was boring, they were reminded no magic blah blah blah out of sight blah blah blah no letters blah blah blah typical things that were mentioned in the folder explaining the assignment in the first place. Basically, it was a pointless meeting that would last for a half an hour and the rest of the time before the portkey left would be spent (dramatic pause/drumroll) sitting around watching people doing paperwork. Yay.

Leaning back in his office chair, Sirius began tossing pencils into the ceiling, trying to beat James' record of 438 in half an hour. It was their thing.

It was just about time to leave when he was notified of being reassigned to Diagon Alley duty for the next 2 months. Sirius' mind raced, they changed his assignment…Which confused him, why would they change his assignment so soon to him leaving for it? The Ministry never did that unless the family of the worker was…but the only people on his list were…

Not even waiting for someone in the Auror office to tell him, he apprated directly into the kitchen of his townhouse, hoping he was wrong and someone else decided to switch with him. Spotting Hana on the couch, tears seeping out of closed eyes, clutching Orion to her, Sirius' heart skipped a beat…his son, Orion. He wasn't aware he had spoken aloud, causing Hana's eyes to snap open, wand pointed steadily in his direction before she realized it was him. Her mouth began running, and Sirius joined her on the couch. He had to know for sure about Orion. Hana was telling him about Orion not moving. Sirius felt as if his heart shriveled his chest. God _his son_. His little infant child, who had made him so happy over the past 3 months. 3 months…he hadn't even made it a full 3 months. Such a short, yet long stretch of time.

They would never see him open his eyes, never see him laugh or smile…and what was worse…they wouldn't see him grow up. They would never have the memories of his first word or step. He would never have a girlfriend or boyfriend…would never see Diagon Alley with the perspective of a student. His son, Orion would never be anything except a memory shared by so few people.

Sirius felt helpless sitting here. But what could he do? He couldn't use a time turner, he would be stopped.

He couldn't save the person who had mattered the most to him and his wife. They would have to have a..a funeral. A funeral for a child. _His only _child. He wouldn't have another if losing one felt this way. He couldn't put himself, let alone Hana, through that. No parent should outlive their children. Children are meant to be an expression of love and life of the family. They had lost their son. They would mourn for the rest of their lives. He would never forget his son. Never.

"Sirius he…he just..when he opened his eyes I..I thought I was hallucinating. I..He could have..d died" she sobbed, rocking Orion in her arms. He froze. _Could have died._ Orion was..alive? He was alive! He gently took Orion from Hana, letting her keep a hand on Orion's foot. Orion opened his eyes from his nap, yawned, looked into his father's eyes and _laughed_. How could he laugh after…? He hadn't thought he would able to hear that laugh again in person, only memories. Sirius shook his head. He wouldn't think about it. A bubble of joy bloomed in his chest as he hugged Orion tightly before pulling back, looking at his open eyes again.

They stayed sitting together for a while, until Orion wiggled, trying to get attention. It was then he noticed the room had filled with Healers and Aurors alike. He had been holding Orion for too long, the healers needed him to let go so they could check him over to be sure nothing was wrong with Orion. He let go, but didn't go too far, deciding to hold Hana as they watched the healers inspect their son, answering the questions of Sirius' colleagues. It seemed to take days before all the questioning was over, and the healers were satisfied with Orion's health. Sirius was walking through a fog. He had almost lost his son today. He gave Hana Dreamless Sleep after moving Orion's crib back into their bedroom, and contented himself to holding his son in the rocking chair that had been in the Black family for years. He couldn't let this happen again. His wife and son were all the family he had. He couldn't lose them. He just couldn't.

He wasn't strong enough to survive.

End Chapter Seven

Posted Tuesday June 22, 2010

**Thanks to all who have added me to their Author Alert and/or Story alert!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry, I'm stuck. So I decided to break the chapter up into even smaller bits, so here is the first half. Second half is killing me trying to come out coherent.**

**Chapter Eight **

A/N: I forgot to mention I changed Draco's birth day from June 5th 1980 to July 5th 1980 to fit my story heh heh oops…(babies are considered newborn until they reach the 1st year mark) This makes Draco younger than Orion as well as worrying his parents about him being the child of prophecy (I could totally see them inducing labor so a. the Malfoy line could continue b. be sure the Malfoy family wasn't the cause of the end of LV, which would have hurt them in Dark society and c. cause they love him, duh

To Omega: Harry Potter was born July 31st 1980, they were attacked in 1981and Harry was just over a year old: thus 1981 is NOT Harry's birth year. It's just not.

Diagon Alley= **DEATH**

Well ok not yet.

But for him, Orion Black heir to the Lord Black on the 6 month anniversary of his birth? Yep. _Death._

Sirius and Hana, his parents, were still a bit…clingy after what happened with the dementors, but they were getting better. Sort of. Slowly.

They still argued over whose eyes he had inherited. Sirius' gray-blue eyes or Hana's blue-gray eyes.

Seriously. Dude, as far as he's concerned…he just has blue eyes.

But, no matter whose eyes he inherited, he is 6 months old today.

So he's is on his way to St. Mungo's to get tested.

The last time he was tested in a hospital, he thinks wryly, it was an STD test after he woke up in some woman's bed. In his other life, of course.

So his parents, as per pureblood customs, were getting his magic tested to see if he had any special gifts.

He couldn't wait for this test, personally. He never did learn what Maggie had gifted him with. He hoped it was totally awesome, like shadow walking or flying (he always had felt at peace in the air) or something equally as amazing...ooo maybe his animagus form was a dragon!

As Orion, newly dubbed Heir of the House of Black, daydreamed about what Maggie could possibly have gifted him with, his parents were attempting to reach the quidditch store before his appointment. It wasn't going well. There hadn't been an attack on Diagon Alley recently and people were taking advantage of the fact. It was unusually crowded in the Alley, for this being wartime that is. Years ago the crowd today would have been considered a normal day.

In the end, they hadn't reached the quidditch store, the many witches cooing over Orion made sure of that.

They'd had to turn around to make their appointment a mere 10 yards from the shop.

Yep, Diagon Alley was death.

**oOo**

The healers and mediwizards of St. Mungo's were exceedingly annoying. He knew, intellectually, that there were medical reasons for the poking and irritating waving of the wands, but the way people were speaking to him was really starting to get on his nerves. He never understood what it was about a baby that turned females into gibbering idiots. And yes, some didn't start out talking to him in baby-talk, but no matter how strong their will, they all ended up talking to him that way. It was inevitable. A simple Fact of Life.

Sitting in a high chair, Orion was waiting with his parents for Healer Whittaker, of the trusted pureblood family of healers. The test itself had taken only a few minutes, it was the results that kept the small family waiting.

Apparently Maggie's little gift wasn't so little.

When mediwizard Roberts finally returned, with Healer Whittaker in tow, Orion was ready for a good nap. He wasn't all too happy, being made to sit in the cold examination room while they waited for his test results. Which, as stated before by mediwizard Roberts, should have only taken a few minutes. Funny how a few minutes is, in doctor time, about an hour. And by 'funny' he most definitely meant 'irritating.'

This was supposed to be a quick little checkup, merely to inform his parents if he had any special gifts and assure them of his health. Instead he gets poked by 3 different St. Mungo's employees then told to wait for the renowned Healer Whittaker to arrive from her sabbatical in China.

Healer Whittaker was one of the oldest, most reliable healers available. Her reputation encompassed all of Europe and Asia. Her word was unquestioned; her ability to keep confidentiality whist under a quadruple dose of veritaserum was legendary.

And yet, for all her reputation, she was a small statured woman. Her seemingly frail body offset by her eyes sparkling with intelligence and power, Orion knew she was not to be underestimated. Hana and Sirius snapped to attention, focusing on the slight woman.

"Lord and Lady Black, I apologize for the delay. It seems your heir's results were a bit alarming for mediwizards Roberts and Drumm. Nevertheless, I have arrived and checked the results and in my opinion the Gifts your child has received has been clearly spelled out by magic itself. The test did _not_ malfunction, as such feel free to come forward with any questions, the hospital will provide you with a view guidelines to follow though you may also research on your own it is recommended you seek advice on any precaution with a qualified Healer." Saying her piece, Healer Whittaker handed the results page over to Orion's parents, clearly waiting for them to come forward with any questions or concerns.

Taking the slip of parchment from Healer Whittaker, Hana read the results aloud to her husband.

"Heritage: Pureblood

Sex: male

Age: 6 months

Name: Orion Cepheus Sirius Black

Parents: Sirius Orion Black & Hana Lee Black née Howl

Familial Abilities: Metamorph, Linguist, Conjuring

Gifted Ability:" it was here she paused in her reading for a brief moment before continuing on more softly than before, where written in purple was a glimpse of their child's power "Gifted Child of Fire and Protection."

"Fire and Protection. Fire and _Protection?_ What does that even _mean?_" Sirius mumbled to himself. There were so many possibilities that fit those words. "Isn't this test supposed to be quite accurate? Fire and Protection seems a bit..well _vague_ doesn't it?" Hana aimed her question to Healer Whittaker, who sighed softly.

"Yes, this is exactly the reason I was called away from China. Your son appears to have been truly blessed my magic itself, causing the test to only show what magic deems us fit to know. As such the only real recommendations I feel appropriate to give you is to keep him fairly warm, even in summer. If he seems drawn to the fire, keep burn salve handy and watch him very closely, do _not_ let him stick his head into fire, I would suggest fire protection spells on his bedding and clothes, your home and the majority of your possessions. As for the Gift of Protection…I cannot say for sure anything about this gift, for as you said, the word is rather vague." Whittaker took a breath and continued "As for his inherited abilities, linguistic skills should show by the time he begins to read, most likely by age 6 depending on availability of reading material and personal experiences. Conjuring may become a problem, he could potentially create anything he wishes for at any time, in my professional opinion he should be trained to control this well enough that he is not conjuring dragons to appear evidenced by Wyatt Howl in 1692." The last said with a touch of humor, her eyes glittering happily. "As for the metamorph gene..that is easily taken care of with a few limitation spells, though blocking it is possible, it is most definitely not recommended as it is nearly impossible to reverse if not reversed within 5 years."

Sirius and Hana were stunned into silence; the most they had expected was familial magic. That their son was truly Gifted was one for the books, the last rumored Gifted being an ancestor of the Slytherin line long deceased before even Salazar Slytherin's time which lead to the genetic gift of Parseltounge.

Orion himself was puzzled. What could have possessed Magic to make him Gifted in Fire and _Protection_…and who knew what that little tidbit would turn out to be. Fire could be anything related to fire…he could be always warm, unable to be burnt, or he could just be drawn to fire…anything really. He'd have to be careful as he figured out what these gifts meant for his life and plans to assist Harry. Orion would have to spend -years- figuring out and learning how to control his new powers…

At this thought Orion could have swore he heard Maggie's giggle.

Just what did he get himself into?

**oOo**

In the end, his parents had spent days and a significant amount of money on spelling and warding their home and possessions from fire of all kinds. On the bright side, his house would never be burnt down. On the other hand…his parents keep looking at him kinda weird.

Annoyed, Orion spent time trying to unlock his metamorph abilities, pleased Sirius and Hana had decided against it until he was older if he couldn't control it properly. Orion secretly delighted in changing his ears to that of a Labrador puppy, and petting himself before going to sleep. The joys of being a metamorph; his parents had yet to discover he was accessing the power.

Perhaps a demonstration of some sort was in order?

**oOo**

**Sorry for the wait.**


End file.
